Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the funding arrangements are for Veterinary Investigative Centres.

Rhona Brankin: The eight Veterinary Disease Surveillance Centres, operated by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) throughout Scotland, and SAC’s Central Diagnostic Laboratory at Penicuik, are supported through grant-in-aid from the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department. SAC also receives substantial external income in respect of commercial diagnostic services provided through the centres. The Veterinary Investigative Centre at Lasswade is operated by the Veterinary Laboratory Agency, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether or not the creation of offences under paragraph 19 of the Sheep and Goats Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/418) was necessary given that Article 9 of EU Directive 92/102/EEC on the identification and registration of animals states "Member States shall adopt administrative and/or penal measures to punish any infringement of Community veterinary legislation, where it is established that the marking or identification or the keeping of registers provided for in Article 4 has not been carried out in conformity with the requirements of this Directive" and whether any infringement of the Regulations could have been dealt with by administrative measures.

Ross Finnie: Article 9 of European Council Directive 92/102/EEC gives member states the choice of measures they can adopt, either administrative or penal.

  Penal measures were introduced because the implementation and registration of animals are central both for veterinary and premium control purposes. On the veterinary side, they are essential for the control of outbreaks of disease and on the premium side to ensure compliance with EU Subsidy scheme rules.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Sheep and Goats Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/418) are more detailed and more strict than the counterpart regulations imposed in England and Wales and, if so, whether it will give details as to why this is and, in particular, why the Scottish Regulations contain provisions regarding the powers of inspectors (paragraph 180) which are not in the Regulations for England and Wales.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Regulations implement European Council Directive 92/102/EEC and this is reflected in corresponding legislation in the rest of GB.

  While there are some minor differences, the Scottish SI is no stricter in its application than the counterpart legislation in the rest of GB. The differences are mainly in drafting including: the implementation date; record keeping for subsidy purposes; movement of sheep off holding to a tattooist, and powers of inspectors and penalties.

  Specifically on record keeping, the veterinary legislation requires records to be kept for six years whereas the premium legislation stipulates a minimum of four years. Since the same flock data is used for both purposes, the Scottish SI specifies six years - to avoid the need to keep separate records.

  The powers for inspectors and penalties in England are given in detail under the Animal Health Act 1981 and therefore not contained in the English SI. Since the Scottish SI is made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, the powers for inspectors and penalties require to be included in the Scottish SI. There are similar powers and penalties under the Animal Health Act 1981.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what circumstances are leading to the closure of the Scottish Agricultural College veterinary laboratory in Thurso.

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make additional funds available in order to keep the Scottish Agricultural College veterinary laboratory in Thurso open.

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that continuation of the work previously undertaken by the Scottish Agricultural College veterinary laboratory in Thurso is secure.

Rhona Brankin: On 17 January, the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) announced plans to close its Veterinary Disease Surveillance Centre in Thurso on 31 July 2001. In recent years, demand for consultancy services provided from the Thurso Centre to local veterinary practices and farmers has significantly reduced and the small amount of diagnostic material arising from this is now mainly referred to SAC’s Central Diagnostic Laboratory. In addition, some research work currently managed through the Thurso Centre will be coming to an end shortly. The centre therefore now provides SAC with very little commercial income, and its residual functions relate primarily to the provision of data for the UK-wide animal disease surveillance programme.

  The decision to close the Thurso Centre was not taken lightly, and SAC appraised all the options very carefully, including the cost implications of keeping the centre open. However, closure of the Thurso Centre represents the most sensible and pragmatic outcome in the circumstances and will make more efficient use of the resources available for veterinary diagnosis and disease surveillance throughout Scotland.

  Veterinary practices and their farmer clients in the areas presently covered by the Thurso Centre will continue to have access to the full range of SAC’s analytical, consultancy and animal health schemes through the Veterinary Centres in Inverness (for the North of Scotland and Orkney) and Aberdeen (for Shetland). Staff at these centres will be available to handle enquiries, and samples for investigation or analysis will be conveyed there either by post or by road and/or ferry using refrigerated vans. Under the new arrangements, SAC expects the level of service provided to existing clients to be at least as good as at present, and SERAD is satisfied that the necessary level of animal disease surveillance will be maintained.

BSE

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to amend the traceability system for cattle to permit more prompt identification of the calves of cows which are diagnosed as being BSE affected.

Ross Finnie: The traceability systems used for BSE and cattle tracing purposes are kept under review. Any lessons to be learned from this particular incident will be acted on as necessary.

BSE

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in support of an investigation into the reasons for the delay in the diagnosis of a cow with BSE and the tracing of the offspring of that cow, part of which may have passed into the human food chain, and whether it will place details of the results of any such investigation by MAFF in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Ross Finnie: The Food Standards Agency, the Scottish Executive and the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food are involved in investigating this incident. Any lessons learned will be acted upon.

BSE

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre all memos, letters, e-mails and other communications between it and (a) the Food Standards Agency Scotland and (b) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on all the circumstances of the handling of the case of the 25-month-old animal from England whose mother was infected with BSE, which was slaughtered at an abattoir in Scotland on 8 January 2001 and parts of which may have entered the food chain.

Ross Finnie: The documents requested cannot be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre as their disclosure could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion between Ministers and their officials. The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information provides an exemption in such circumstances.

British Council

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to the British Council regarding its proposals for eight smaller offices in Germany to replace the present structure in the light of its policy of building relationships with the German länder.

Mr Jack McConnell: The development of Scottish Executive links with the German länder will not be affected by the structure of the network of British Council offices in Germany.

British Council

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make any contribution to the costs of any of the new British Council offices in Germany in the light of its policy of building relationships with the German länder.

Mr Jack McConnell: No. The nature and funding of the British Council’s office network in Germany is a matter for the council, who have assured me that programme expenditure has not been reduced and that activity will continue at current levels.

Cancer

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to offer Capecitabine in tablet form for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer on the NHS.

Susan Deacon: On 19 October 2000, the Committee on Proprietary Medicinal Products, part of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, recommended that Capecitabine be granted a marketing authorisation for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. This recommendation has to be approved by the European Commission before the product can be marketed.

  The UK took part in an international clinical trial of Capecitabine used in combination with another drug, for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. This trial has now concluded and the results will inform decisions about Capecitabine’s use in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Central Heating

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether pensioner households in Glasgow will benefit from the central heating and insulation investment project planned by it during the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002.

Jackie Baillie: Yes.

Charity Law

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review or extend the period allowed for charities to make returns to the Charity Commission in respect of street collections so as to bring the timescale into line with the three-month period allowed in England.

Mr Jim Wallace: Returns in respect of street collections in Scotland are made to the local authority concerned. The Scottish Charity Law Review Commission is currently looking at all aspects of the regulation of public charitable collections. It is due to report at Easter and we shall then examine its recommendations in this regard.

Children

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements the use of the materials Looking after Children in Scotland: Good Parenting, Good Outlook have made to contemporary practice in this area.

Nicol Stephen: These materials are designed to achieve better outcomes for children through more systematic planning and measurement of their needs. Their use can strengthen working partnerships between key people in a child’s life as they cover the critical aspects of education, health and personal and social development. They should also help to clarify the allocation of professional responsibilities.

  All local authorities in Scotland have agreed to use the materials. An audit of progress on implementation is underway and a report is expected by April this year.

  We are currently considering how best to measure the impact of the materials in terms of improvements to professional practice and to the lives of looked-after children.

Criminal Records

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was, for each of the last three years, of dealing with criminal record checks for those who work in the voluntary sector.

Mr Jim Wallace: Under arrangements first introduced in 1989, criminal record checks for employment-related purposes are available mainly to employers in the statutory sector who are appointing people to positions which would give them substantial access to children in health, social work and education. Statutory sector employers may check volunteers under these arrangements but such checks are not separately identified.

  A limited scheme was introduced in 1998 allowing criminal record checks to be carried out by the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) on behalf of approved voluntary child care organisations. The cost to SCRO of these checks in each of the last three years is estimated approximately as follows:

  


1 July 1998 to 31 December 1998
  

£2,250
  



1 January 1999 to 31 December 1999
  

£7,000
  



1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000
  

£9,750

Criminal Records

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will establish a central body to help the voluntary sector make the best use of criminal record checks on volunteers.

Mr Jim Wallace: Part V of the Police Act 1997 makes provision for criminal record checks to be carried out at the request of individuals. The first stage of implementation of Part V is planned for the summer. We are, therefore, aiming to have the central body established before then so that it is ready to assist the voluntary sector when Part V is implemented.

Drug Misuse

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the effectiveness of methadone programmes used in the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is already robust national and international evidence for the effectiveness of methadone programmes. In Scotland research carried out by clinicians and academic institutions consistently shows effective outcomes for individuals. These include reduced criminality, improved health, reduced illicit drug use and spread of blood-borne virus and improved personal, social and family functioning. Methadone programmes that include counselling and other forms of support for the individual are most effective.

  The Executive’s new drugs research programme will include an evaluation of the long-term outcomes and relative cost effectiveness of treatment with methadone. A large-scale research project into outcomes’ effectiveness, funded by the Robertson Trust and supported by the Executive, is also under way.

  Over the next year, the Executive’s Effective Interventions Unit will be developing detailed guidance on the effective planning and delivery of methadone programmes within shared care arrangements. Initial guidance will be issued to Drug Action Teams and related agencies shortly.

  The Executive has also set a national target that every Local Health Care Co-operative or Primary Care Trust is to have a locally approved shared care scheme by 2004.

Education

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how learndirect scotland will contribute to the achievement of social justice.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Learning is critical to employability and to fulfilling potential.   learndirectbscotland is simplifying access to lifelong learning by giving people information and advice on all kinds of learning opportunities.

  We have set learndirect scotland challenging targets for March 2002, including engaging at least 23,000 learners from socially deprived areas and branding at least 100 learning centres within such areas.

Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that discipline in schools is improved.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1O-2893 today.

Education

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school students in each local authority area currently have a record of needs and what proportion of the total school roll in each area this represents.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is given in the table.

  


Pupils Of Publicly Funded Schools With A Record Of Needs: 
  1999-2000
  



Source: September 1999 School Census
  





Local Authority
  

Number of pupils with a Record of Needs
  

As a % of total number of pupils
  



SCOTLAND
  

15,257
  

2.0
  



Aberdeen City
  

652
  

2.4
  



Aberdeenshire
  

680
  

1.9
  



Angus
  

270
  

1.6
  



Argyll & Bute
  

180
  

1.3
  



Clackmannanshire
  

153
  

2.1
  



Dumfries & Galloway
  

444
  

2.0
  



Dundee City
  

555
  

2.7
  



East Ayrshire
  

417
  

2.2
  



East Dunbartonshire
  

170
  

0.9
  



East Lothian
  

109
  

0.8
  



East Renfrewshire
  

212
  

1.3
  



Edinburgh, City of
  

1,017
  

2.0
  



Eilean Siar
  

116
  

2.7
  



Falkirk
  

606
  

2.9
  



Fife
  

594
  

1.1
  



Glasgow City
  

2,371
  

3.0
  



Highland
  

830
  

2.5
  



Inverclyde
  

419
  

3.1
  



Midlothian
  

173
  

1.3
  



Moray
  

323
  

2.4
  



North Ayrshire
  

452
  

2.1
  



North Lanarkshire
  

925
  

1.8
  



Orkney Islands
  

43
  

1.4
  



Perth & Kinross
  

316
  

1.7
  



Renfrewshire
  

876
  

3.2
  



Scottish Borders
  

265
  

1.7
  



Shetland Islands
  

82
  

2.1
  



South Ayrshire
  

385
  

2.3
  



South Lanarkshire
  

1,013
  

2.1
  



Stirling
  

207
  

1.6
  



West Dunbartonshire
  

135
  

0.9
  



West Lothian
  

267
  

1.1

Enterprise

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and what matters were discussed.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Nicol Stephen, when Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, met the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 13 July 2000 to discuss shipbuilding matters. I have recently had meetings with Patricia Hewitt, Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to discuss digital issues and with Helen Liddell when Minister of State at DTI to discuss energy matters. I plan to see the Secretary of State shortly.

Environment

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sea cage fish farming operators have been taken to court by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and what percentage of these cases resulted in a conviction, broken down for each year since the establishment of the agency.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Information about the number of cases taken to court by the Procurator Fiscal after referral by the agency is not held centrally. However, the agency publishes details of successful prosecutions on its website at:

  http://www.sepa.org.uk/envdata/prosecutions/

Environment

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the floating pontoon at Lerwick and a slipway at Stornoway have been exempted from regulations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 concerning the use of Tributylin or Triphenyltin coatings and, if so, whether it will explain the reasons for any exemptions.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The information requested is not held centrally. The authorisation of processes under the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991 is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Environment

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is achieving its aim of providing "an efficient and integrated environmental protection system for Scotland which will both improve the environment and contribute to the Government’s goal of sustainable development", with particular regard to the Scottish salmon farming industry.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The salmon farming industry is relatively new and wishes to expand, and to use a range of chemicals. To do so it is seeking consents to discharge into the water environment. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency must reconcile these demands with its duties to protect the environment and to observe the requirements of EU legislation, such as the Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC). The Scottish Executive believes that the agency is carrying out this task effectively.

Environment

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has adequate resources to undertake its regulatory and monitoring functions relating to salmon farming in such a way that the agency’s main aim of providing "an efficient and integrated environmental protection system for Scotland which will both improve the environment and contribute to the Government’s goal of sustainable development" is achieved in relation to this particular area.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Yes. The Scottish Executive has given careful consideration to the resources which the Scottish Environment Protection Agency requires to carry out its regulatory and monitoring functions. As a result of this consideration, in the Spending Review announced in September 2000, the agency was awarded additional funding of £16.5 million for the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04. The agency’s total resources over this period, including income from charges, will be about £123 million.

Environment

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S1W-11971, S1W-11972 and S1W-11973 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 4 January 2000, what consideration it has given to the possibility that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) may have misinterpreted the law and consequently misled Scottish salmon farmers with regard to SEPA’s powers and farmers’ legal rights.

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has investigated or will investigate whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has misinterpreted the Control of Pollution Act 1974 section 34 (2), misdirected itself in relation to its power to refuse discharge consents and consequently misled Scottish salmon farmers and, if such misinterpretation has taken place, what action it will take.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has recently become aware that certain offices of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have until recently been issuing standard letters dating from before an amendment to section 34(2) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. These letters suggest that a failure on the applicants’ part to agree a period longer than four months to consider their application would result in a deemed refusal, whereas the amended legislation would merely give the applicants the option to treat it as such.

  The agency has issued guidance to staff to prevent the issue of any more of these standard letters.

Environment

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources will be made available to enable local authorities to carry out their responsibilities under the new statutory regime for contaminated land.

Mr Sam Galbraith: A great deal of polluted land has been inherited from past generations when little or no consideration was given to the impact of our actions on the environment. We now face the prospect of removing this undesirable legacy.

  We have allocated £5.2 million capital resources for 2000-01 and 2001-02 to help local authorities implement the new contaminated land regime which provides the best solution to bringing polluted land back into productive use. Its main objective is to provide an improved system for the identification and remediation of contaminated land where the contamination is causing unacceptable risk to human health and the wider environment. A further £9.5 million for 2002-03 and 2003-04 will be allocated in due course.

  The funds will help local authorities to investigate sites, take forward enforcement action and, if they are unable to identify those responsible for the contamination, carry out remediation work.

  In addition, £9.7 million is being made available over the five years 1999-2000 to 2003-04 as part of the Annual External Finance settlement for local authority current expenditure.

  The distribution of capital allocations to local authorities is shown in the table.

  

 

Allocations for
2000-01
  

Allocations for
2001-02
  





£000
  

£000
  



Aberdeen City
  

17
  

62
  



Aberdeenshire
  

19
  

68
  



Angus
  

32
  

79
  



Argyll & Bute
  

20
  

72
  



Clackmannanshire
  

15
  

37
  



Dumfries & Galloway
  

46
  

112
  



Dundee City
  

41
  

102
  



East Ayrshire
  

54
  

128
  



East Dunbartonshire
  

15
  

37
  



East Lothian
  

15
  

37
  



East Renfrewshire
  

15
  

37
  



Edinburgh (City of)
  

45
  

181
  



Eilean Siar
  

20
  

72
  



Falkirk
  

26
  

63
  



Fife
  

108
  

266
  



Glasgow City
  

174
  

429
  



Highland
  

91
  

224
  



Inverclyde
  

15
  

55
  



Midlothian
  

49
  

106
  



Moray
  

15
  

38
  



North Ayrshire
  

52
  

128
  



North Lanarkshire
  

225
  

447
  



Orkney Islands
  

15
  

37
  



Perth & Kinross
  

22
  

77
  



Renfrewshire
  

52
  

127
  



Scottish Borders
  

15
  

53
  



Shetland
  

0
  

0
  



South Ayrshire
  

19
  

47
  



South Lanarkshire
  

76
  

187
  



Stirling
  

27
  

68
  



West Dunbartonshire
  

29
  

71
  



West Lothian
  

136
  

253
  



Scotland Total
  

1,500
  

3,700

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make available funding for child care or creche facilities to assist in the recruitment of female retained firefighters.

Iain Gray: It is for fire boards and authorities to determine their own priorities for use of the funding available to them. The strategies referred to in the answer to question S1W-11661 will include means to assist in the recruitment of female retained firefighters.

Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of availability of the BCG vaccination for schoolchildren is sufficient.

Susan Deacon: The routine schools programme was restarted in the London area on 19 July 2000 following some limited improvement in the supply of BCG vaccine. The programme will recommence in schools elsewhere in the UK when a secure supply of sufficient vaccine is assured.

  Discussions are currently taking place at UK level to establish the most effective way of ensuring a reliable supply of vaccine for the future.

Historic Sites

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to mark appropriately, possibly through Historic Scotland, the historic site of the Battle of Bannockburn in the light of the findings of Dr Fiona Watson of Stirling University.

Allan Wilson: We have no such plans at present. Dr Watson’s report on the historic site of the Battle of Bannockburn was commissioned by Stirling Council. I understand that Dr Watson has not yet submitted her final report to the council.

Homelessness

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of Rough Sleeper Initiative grants awarded to schemes involving faith-based organisations in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 1998-99, (iii) 1999-2000 and (iv) 2001-01 showing the number of grants made and value of each grant.

Jackie Baillie: RSI funding is made available to local authorities for the delivery of projects and services which the authority has assessed best meet the identified needs of people sleeping rough in their area. These projects and services are delivered by a range of providers, including both statutory and non-statutory organisations, some of which are faith-based. However, as this was not a factor which determined whether or not projects received funding, the breakdown of information requested is not available.

Homelessness

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what proportion of Rough Sleeper Initiative grants in 2000-01 have been allocated and spent to date and whether all available funding will be spent by the end of this financial year.

Jackie Baillie: RSI allocations were announced in the answer to question S1W-4640 and in Wendy Alexander’s statement to the Parliament of 1 June 2000.

  Local authorities, with their partners are now taking forward the development of approved projects. Delays in progressing some of these are likely to result in slippage of spending into 2001-02. The extent of the slippage has not yet been assessed.

Justice

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to protect those who might be targeted by animal rights groups.

Mr Jim Wallace: This is a matter for the police, who will investigate any alleged incidents involving violence or intimidation by animal rights protesters.

Less Favoured Areas

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what priority will be given to crofters and small hill farmers in less favoured areas in the allocation of modulation funding.

Ross Finnie: The activities into which modulated EU resources can be allocated are specified in Council Regulation (EC) 1259/99. To comply with this legal requirement, estimated amounts of modulated EU resources have been allocated in Scotland to agri-environment and forestry schemes, which apply across all our rural areas. All farmers and crofters in Scotland will have access to these schemes.

  There is no similar legal constraint on the matching resources secured from the UK Exchequer. Where this money is spent on schemes included in the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme, a sum will be allocated which is proportionate to the amount modulated from farmers and crofters in that area.

Library Facilities

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by parliamentary constituency of the £20 million funding announced for libraries for a network of learning centres.

Allan Wilson: Distribution of the £11.5 million allocated for the development of the public library network is a matter for the New Opportunities Fund. I shall ask the Director to write to the member.

Local Government

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what have been the costs to (a) it and (b) each local authority of implementing and operating the "Best Value" regime in each year since the system came into operation.

Angus MacKay: The implementation of Best Value has involved no significant public expenditure on the part of the Scottish Executive.

  The Executive holds no information on the costs to local authorities of implementing Best Value. Such costs would be associated with the review of services and the development of new systems for the public reporting of council performance.

  The implementation of Best Value will, however, afford local authorities opportunities to focus resources on priority services through new approaches to service delivery and more effective performance management. In its consultation paper Best Value in Local Government: Next Steps, published in June 2000, the Executive suggested that local authorities should set themselves an annual target of redistributing 2% of their overall resources through effective implementation of Best Value.

Local Government Finance

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the extra funding for local authorities announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 7 December 2000 will be sufficient to prevent local authorities from making any substantial cuts in frontline services.

Peter Peacock: Our announcement provided for every local authority to receive a better than real terms increase in grant in each of the next three years. These additional resources should enable authorities to invest in improved services and infrastructure. However, it is for local authorities themselves to manage their budgets and determine their expenditure priorities.

Miners

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many miners have (a) received compensation in relation to serious and debilitating illnesses contracted as a result of their employment, such as emphysema, bronchitis and vibration white finger, and (b) applied for compensation but are yet to receive any payment.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Mineworkers’ compensation is a reserved matter.

  This information can be obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Ministers

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the Minister for Rural Affairs was renamed the Minister for Rural Development.

Henry McLeish: The portfolio was renamed to emphasise the Executive’s commitment to the development of rural areas.

NHS Funding

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the financial deficit of Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust is projected to increase to £10 million in the current financial year.

Susan Deacon: The Trust is forecasting that it will keep to its financial plans and return a reduced overspend of £8 million this financial year.

NHS Staff

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has in place to increase the numbers of trained psychologists in the NHS across Scotland and in particular in the Dumfries and Galloway area in order to improve waiting times for initial appointments.

Susan Deacon: We have recognised the need to address issues of education, training and workforce planning for Clinical Psychologists. The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) was given responsibility for the support of the postgraduate training of clinical psychologists in April 1999. Last August the Scottish Executive allocated £100,000 to SCPMDE to provide extra training posts for Clinical Psychology. In addition, the Chief Medical Officer has appointed a Clinical Psychology Advisory Group to focus on matters such as service design and waiting times. These initiatives are at an early stage and will deal with their remits on a national basis.

Parliamentary Questions

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer questions S1W-11654, S1W-11655, S1W-11656 and S1W-11657, lodged on 4 December 2000.

Susan Deacon: These questions will be answered as soon as possible.

Planning

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why Argyll and Bute Council’s proposal to construct a car park in The Avenue in Inveraray has not been called in for determination by the Scottish Ministers, given that the case has been referred to the Commission of Local Administration in Scotland.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Office Development Department Circular 4/1997 lays down the criteria which require local authorities to notify planning applications to the Scottish Ministers. Reference of a case to the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland is not included and, therefore, is not a planning reason for call-in.

Schools

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to address the backlog of repairs and maintenance of school buildings.

Mr Henry McLeish: Jack McConnell recently announced an additional £17.2 million in the current financial year to assist authorities in dealing with immediate repairs, maintenance and equipment problems in schools. In addition, by 2003-04 capital allocations for local authority investment in infrastructure will have increased by nearly 40% compared with current levels. We are also providing revenue support for school Public/Private Partnership schemes with a capital value of £530 million and, under the New Deal for Schools, we are making an additional £115.7 million available over five years from 1997. We hope to be able to announce decisions on the allocation of a further £5 million to support early development of potential school PPP projects in the near future.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to encourage the production of material in the Scots language which is suitable for use with pre-school children.

Nicol Stephen: The provision of support materials for pre-school children is a matter for each centre to decide, taking account of the Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5 and any parental cultural preferences.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that training for nursery nurses will include the promotion and development of pupils’ Scots language skills.

Nicol Stephen: Qualifications held by nursery nurses are developed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority based on occupational standards determined by the industry itself, through the relevant National Training Organisation. The Executive has no direct involvement.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that any expansion of nursery provision will not lead to the diminution of the place of the Scots language in pre-school provision.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive aims to provide a part-time pre-school education place for every three- and four-year-old whose parents wish it by April 2002. Within the principles set by the Curriculum Framework for Children 3 to 5,  providers are free to adjust the content of learning programmes to reflect the cultural preferences of parents. The framework makes clear that a child’s home language should always be valued.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils are still awaiting the results of examinations from the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s 1999-2000 exam programme.

Mr Jack McConnell: Every case of incomplete, inaccurate or missing results raised with the Scottish Qualifications Authority has been thoroughly investigated and a result issued to the candidate concerned. I have made clear to the SQA the importance of getting these candidates their final certificates – not just results – and that process is underway.

  Following my announcement on 21 December that an independent Appeals Review would be established, 4,000 appeal cases are currently being re-examined. We will complete this review as quickly as possible to end the uncertainty and get fair and accurate results to all the young people affected.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to notify MSPs and all other interested and affected parties of the registration process for accessing surplus funds under the Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has established a telephone enquiry line to deal with questions about the scheme. While the scheme records will be the main source of the data we will be using, we are also taking the opportunity to invite enquirers to record their current addresses and details of their service with STG with the Executive. This information will be helpful in updating the records but there is no need for anyone to register at this stage. A page on the Scottish Executive website will be published early this month to supplement the telephone enquiry line.

  The Scottish Executive will bring forward proposals as regards the distribution to beneficiaries for the approval of the Scottish Parliament. When Parliament has agreed these proposals and when the records are passed to the Scottish Executive following the wind-up of the pension schemes and dissolution of the Scottish Transport Group, verification of pension scheme membership data will be sought from individual pension scheme members. To ensure that the proposals agreed by Parliament are promulgated widely it is our intention to publish, at the appropriate time, details in national newspapers to alert those who may have an interest in the proposals.

Social Inclusion

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made for smaller areas of deprivation which fall outwith Social Inclusion Partnership status.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive has a wide range of programmes and initiatives aimed at tackling poverty and deprivation wherever it occurs across Scotland. The Social Justice annual report sets out our achievements to date and the First Minister recently set out details in Working Together for Scotland how we will continue to work to improve the lives of all the people in Scotland.

Teachers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure information concerning levels of short- and long-term teacher absenteeism is publicly available.

Mr Jack McConnell: The management of teacher absence is a matter for local authorities as employers. However, teacher absence rates are one of a series of performance measures on which local authorities report to Audit Scotland and that information will be published in due course. We have no plans to collect information on short- or long-term absence amongst teachers.

Telecommunications

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11372 by Susan Deacon on 17 January 2001, why information on the number of hospitals with mobile phone masts attached to their buildings is not held centrally and where this information is held.

Susan Deacon: Information on the number of hospitals with mobile phone masts attached to their buildings is not held centrally as this is an operational matter, with this information being held by individual Trusts.

Tourism

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce compulsory registration for bed and breakfast establishments.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: No.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the accessibility and structure of the visitscotland website; if not, why adequate steps were not taken during the development of the website to ensure that it was easily located by Internet search engines, and how much it will cost to correct any problems in this regard.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: I am satisfied with the progress that the Scottish Tourist Board is making in developing the visitscotland.com website. The action that the board is taking includes investing in improving accessibility through search engines. A new look site, which will include improved search and navigational techniques, is at the advanced stages of specification.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the original registration procedure for the Ossian project was adequate; if so, why more companies did not register and what action it is taking to ensure that registration will increase in the future.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The registration procedure is an operational matter for the Scottish Tourist Board. I will ask the Chairman to write to you. The website now contains details of more than 17,400 businesses.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the independent consultants currently working with visitscotland are reviewing the Ossian project and what action it intends to take over the performance to date of the Ossian project.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The project is not at present being reviewed by independent consultants. Continuous improvements are being achieved in the performance of the website, which attracted over 3 million user sessions last year.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a slimming down of visitscotland’s management structure would be sufficient to deal with any problems which exist in relation to the performance of visitscotland and reverse the drop in overseas visitors to Scotland.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The implementation of the recommendations contained in the recent Management Review of the Scottish Tourist Board is only one of the actions that are being taken to further support our tourism industry. The Executive’s Tourism Strategy contains many new actions designed to grow tourism throughout Scotland. We are also providing increased levels of financial support through the STB.

Transport

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to use the estimated annual £15 million saving through the trunk road maintenance contracts to negotiate with the Bank of America for an early return of the Skye Bridge to public ownership.

Sarah Boyack: The Skye Bridge is already owned by Scottish Ministers. The Executive has frozen the tolls at 1999 levels and reviewed the impact of the 1998 concessions for regular users, meeting its commitment in the Programme for Government .

Water Authorities

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Water Industry Commissioner issues any guidance or makes any recommendations to the water authorities on appropriate skill levels and knowledge of staff such as chartered engineers.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Water Industry Commissioner does not issue guidance or make recommendations to the water authorities on appropriate skill levels and knowledge of staff such as chartered engineers.

Water Authorities

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each water authority paid in interest on debt in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The amounts paid in interest by each water authority are:

  £ million

  




1997-98
  

1998-99
  

1999-2000
  



West of Scotland
  

54.248
  

52.379
  

49.239
  



North of Scotland
  

31.737
  

26.204
  

26.013
  



East of Scotland
  

36.656
  

40.051
  

44.247
  



  The figures shown exclude any debt refinancing costs and any interest received. They are also consistent with the annual accounts for each of the water authorities.

Young People

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering establishing a national youth strategy.

Nicol Stephen: Yes. We are considering how best to give young people and youth issues a stronger profile at national and local level.

Youth Training

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status is of the Youth Training Guarantee.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Young people across the UK who are under 18 and not in full-time education or employment are guaranteed an offer of suitable training. The guarantee is delivered in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise as a key element of the Skillseekers programme, funded by the Executive.